Sensex drops 142pts; breadth turns negative

The Sensex opened with a negative gap of 34 points at 12,401. The index soon plunged to a low of 12,224 - down 211 points from its previous close.

The index has slipped back to lower levels and is now down 142 points at 12,293.

ICICI Bank has dropped 2% to Rs 647. SBI has slipped 1.5% to Rs 962, and HDFC Bank is down 1% at Rs 862.

Reliance has dropped 2% to Rs 1,086. HDFC has shed 1.6% to Rs 1,367.

TCS and Bharti Tele are down 1.4% each to Rs 1,993 and Rs 409, respectively.

ACC and Gujarat Ambuja are down over 1% each to Rs 953 and Rs 113, respectively.

Dr.Reddy's has gained nearly 2% at Rs 1,661. Hero Honda has advanced 1.4% to Rs 883. Larsen & Toubro is up 1% at Rs 2,803.

The market breadth has turned negative. Out of 2,245 stocks traded so far, 1,141 have declined, 1,051 have declined and the rest are unchanged.